Oil India eyes $200 mln shale gas buy in U.S.-report

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Oil India Ltd is in talks
to buy a 25 percent stake in shale gas acreage owned by a
U.S.-listed company in a deal worth around $200 million, the
Mint newspaper reported on Monday citing executives at the
state-run refiner.

"The acreage is near Eagle Ford (Texas)," OIL Chairman and
Managing Director N.M. Borah was reported as saying.

"The proposal is being studied," added Borah, who declined
to name the U.S. company as the deal had not been closed.

An unnamed second executive told the newspaper that OIL was
conducting due diligence of the U.S. company.

A spokesperson at OIL could not be immediately reached for
comment by Reuters.

The United States is the world's top producer of shale gas,
a natural gas locked in rock formations considered a top source
of future energy.

Indian oil and gas major Reliance Industries Ltd
has spent $3.44 billion on three U.S. shale gas assets, while
state-run GAIL India Ltd bought a 20 percent stake in
shale acreage for $63.7 million last year, the report said.